The New Stuff of Legend: Fancy Meeting You Here
by hawkerin
Summary: A chance meeting with a future Doctor gives Rose a glimpse at the future. (After Imzadi and Invitations)


Rose entered the dress shop on her own. Alex and Evander had gone shopping for parts. Not that they needed them, but it was a bit of a hobby, so they enjoyed digging through piles of old, broken gadgets.

Truthfully, Rose could have found several perfectly good dresses on the TARDIS as well, but she similarly found shopping for clothes to be relaxing and fun. She was a bit surprised though to be pulled from the dress rack she had been browsing and dragged across the store by an unknown woman towards the dressing rooms.

"There you are! I need your opinion, love. Which one of these will look better?" the woman questioned, holding up two dresses in front of herself.

As best Rose could tell, the woman was a similar height to herself, with blonde hair to her chin. She was wearing too short trousers and a long jacket, but couldn't see much more of her as she was hiding behind the two dresses. Her accent reminded Rose of her first Doctor in leather.

"Umm, I don't know," she answered honestly.

"What?" the woman sighed. "You're always better at this than me. You aren't going to make me put them on, are you?"

"Sorry, do I know you? I tend to jump around a bit and meet people out of order sometimes," Rose admitted.

The blonde woman stared at her with an open mouth for a moment before glancing behind her. Her eyes widened and she suddenly darted for the change rooms.

"What?! What's wrong? Are you alright?" Rose called after her.

"Everything alright?" Alex asked as he dashed to her side.

"I dunno really. This woman was talking to me like she knew me, then ran off," Rose told him. "Are you ok in there?" she added toward the closed door.

"Just fine, yeah. Sorry to have bothered you. You and your husband can go now," she called back.

"Hang on, how did you know my husband was here? He hadn't even been next to me before you ran off," Rose argued.

"Wait a minute, Rose. You weren't paying attention to it, but what direction do you feel Evander right now?" Alex interjected.

"What? I … oh," she gasped.

The door to the change room opened, revealing the woman on the inside, looking a bit dejected. Rose and Alex just sort of stared at her for a moment, taking in the shock of such a huge difference in their spouse.

"Guess there's no point in hiding now. Where's the past me?" she asked.

"Bringing the parts we bought back to the TARDIS," Alex replied.

"Evander?" Rose asked, though she knew the answer now.

"Well, yeah, but a bit of a boy's name really. Been giving Evy a try for now," she shrugged. "Not quite settled in my skin just yet, so it all feels a bit off."

"How long has it been since you regenerated?" Rose wondered.

"Not long. A few weeks or so, but you've been helping me with when I have to change my clothes now and then. Usually alright, but you know how they are sometimes about ladies wearing trousers," Evy told her.

"Sorry I couldn't help more with the dresses this time, then. Hang on, you didn't know that I wasn't from your time until you saw Alex," Rose said, suddenly terrified that they'd both regenerate far too soon.

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't be scared, love! It's not for a really long time. Nothing to worry about at all," she assured her wife.

"I'm certainly not worried," Alex said, looking them both over appreciatively.

"Oi! Don't you go wishing me into my next body, thank you very much, Alex," Evy protested.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he responded, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Anyway, you should probably talk to your Rose about which dress would be best. We'll be off and let you get back to it, yeah?" Rose suggested, taking Alex's arm.

"Yeah. Oh, and Rose, since I'm not here, you two won't forget this and there's something really important that I need you to know," Evy insisted, taking both of Rose's hands into her own and looking her in the eyes.

"Ok."

"We _will_ come for you. Don't give up. We're coming," she told her, squeezing her hands firmly.

"I know you'll always come for me, Doctor," Rose assured her.

"Of course we will," Alex added. "Anything that I need to know about it?"

"It has to happen," she sighed, shaking her head. "I wish there was a way to prevent it, but I can't. Just track the bracelet, that's all I can tell you."

They all looked down at the bracelet that Rose had received from the TARDIS so long ago. She had been pulled through the Doctor's past and gotten it at Christmas with the eighth incarnation of her husband. It had the words Bad Wolf inscribed all over it and sealed itself on her wrist as soon as she put it on. They'd never really worried about it, just knew that it was some kind of relic from Gallifrey.

"Right. I'll remember that. See you soon," Alex told her.

In a surprising turn, Evy swiftly hugged them both before darting back into the change room and shutting the door. Rose and Alex nodded to each other, knowing that it was a bit of a painful goodbye for Evy to see these past versions of them before something that was apparently quite traumatic. They were just about to leave, when Alex turned back to say something through the door.

"The blue dress!"


End file.
